


mustard

by softie



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, Sickfic, Trans Male Character, dracula cooks instant noodles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8134124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softie/pseuds/softie
Summary: Akaashi and Kenma are invited to a Halloween party, but Akaashi is sick with no one to take care of him except his small black cat. Dracula is on his way.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is for [lexi!!](http://haikyuutm.tumblr.com)

_ You’re picking up Akaashi, right? _

Kenma read the message from Bokuto displayed brightly on his phone screen. Kuroo was throwing a “small” Halloween party tonight, and since Kenma and Akaashi were usually the first to bounce, they decided to go together.

_ Yeah. I’ll be on the way in 5 minutes. _

_ Thanks again for getting him, Kenma!! See ya there!  _

He tossed his phone lightly onto his bed, and continued getting ready. Dressing up for Halloween was never really something Kenma enjoyed doing, but at a Halloween party, he was more likely to draw attention by  _ not _ wearing a costume. He shuddered at the thought of Lev running up to him asking, “Aww where are the cat ears, Kenma?!” 

Kenma leaned in close to the mirror, making sure his faux vampire teeth were secure in place. Then, he tied his cape around his neck in a lazy bow. He turned to the side to make sure his binder was adjusted correctly, and that he was as flat as he could get. With a sigh, he ruffled his hair, switched the bathroom light off, and was out the door.

It was strange that Kenma hadn’t heard from Akaashi almost all day. The last message he received from him was a brief “Okay, see you at  9:30.” Kenma wasn’t really worried, though. If anyone understood the need to avoid social interaction for a while, it was Kenma. After buckling his seatbelt, he tapped in a small message, then he was on his way.

_ On my way. _

* * *

Kenma parked outside Akaashi’s apartment, whose porch was much less festive than his neighbor’s. He approached the worn welcome mat outside his door, and knocked once, then twice, and then after checking his phone to see no new messages, a third time. Finally, the door opened, and Akaashi poked his head out. He squinted at Kenma, who was lit much too brightly by the fluorescent porch light.  


Kenma tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Uhh… You ready?”

He watched as Akaashi processed his words slowly, then checked his phone for the time. His eyes shot open. “Oh…”

“You feeling okay?” Kenma asked, being slightly presumptuous of Akaashi’s sleep shirt and lack of pants. 

“Mmm, not really. Throat’s kinda sore. I’m sorry I never replied to you, I think I slept all day…” Akaashi swiped through his missed notifications, wondering how exactly he managed to sleep an entire day. 

“Don’t worry about it. Do you have medicine? I doubt you’re coming to Kuroo’s tonight.” Kenma caught sight of the blanket tossed carelessly over the small couch in Akaashi’s living room. A single mug with a teabag that must’ve been steeping all day laid still on the table. 

“I think so. And yeah, I don’t think I can come over tonight.” He rubbed his forehead as he thought of the immediate headache he might get upon hearing Bokuto shouting. “But thanks for coming over anyway. I hope you have fun tonight.”

“Ah, yeah. Lots of fun. I love listening to Bokuto and Kuroo play Spooky Scary Skeletons on repeat for 3 hours straight.”

Akaashi laughed, then winced in pain as he held his throat. “Ow.”

“Have you eaten today, Keiji? Or even drank anything?”

Akaashi shook his head. “Just slept, mostly. I’ll be okay, Kenma, really. Go have fun, or whatever. Text me when you get home afterwards so I know you’re safe and all that.”

“Cute.”

“Stop it.”

Kenma snorted. “Alright, I’ll see you soon, then.”

Akaashi waved as he closed his door. Kenma turned around and started walking towards his car, dreading the long night ahead of him. A party? By himself? “Yikes…” He muttered under his breath as he settled into his seat.

Kenma stared at the street lights that flickered by on the road. He already felt himself getting tired, and pondered grabbing a small coffee to perk himself up a bit. Pulling into the nearest gas station, he grabbed his wallet and headed for the door. A bright neon sign was placed crookedly over the entrance, and made an annoying buzzing noise. As he entered, soft music played throughout the many aisles of endless candy bars and overpriced cup noodles. He scanned the area for a coffee machine, but his eyes caught the giant water bottles chilling in a tub of ice first. 

Akaashi hadn’t had a sip of water all day. Kenma thought he could take care of himself, but that clearly wasn’t the case. And if all of Akaashi’s friends were at a party, who would take care of him?

Kenma walked towards the cooler, feeling his cape float up behind him. He grabbed two large water bottles, then went back to where the expensive cup noodles were. Beef flavor sounded promising.

“Hmm… what else.” Kenma bit his lip in concentration, until he spotted the hygiene and toiletries aisle. “Ah.”

Feeling his cape float up behind him again, Kenma moved swiftly passed the 15 different brands of condoms and only one brand of deodorant to find the small packages of single-dose medicine. “Ibuprofen…. Ibuprofen…” His finger roamed over the many different medicine, squinting to find the right one.

“Oh my gosh, it’s Dracula!!”

Kenma looked over to see a child dressed as a tinier vampire than he. The kid’s gray face paint was starting to crack around his mouth, and fake blood was gelled to his neck in the form of two dots for teeth marks. His hands looked sticky, too. Kenma hoped it was melted chocolate on his hands.

Kenma lifted his upper lip to bare his vampire teeth, and shot the kid a frightening hiss. Nothing too loud, but enough.

The kid’s eyes bulged from his head in fear, and shrieked. “Mom!! Mommy!!!” The boy backed away and started to run, searching desperately for his mother.

Kenma laughed a bit, then continued searching for the medicine. Finally finding the dark blue packet, he chimed. “A-ha.” 

He grabbed 2 packets, one for now and one for the morning, and then made his way to the register. He smirked at the kid hiding behind his mother’s leg by the coffee bar, paid for his items, and made a dramatic exit with his long flowing cape.

* * *

_ Knock-knock. _   


Akaashi paused his movie and uncoiled himself from his duvet. Several tissues fell to the floor as he stood up. He grabbed the wall for stability as he felt himself blackout momentarily. Dehydration is great.

He looked through the peephole to see who it was, and then knit his eyebrows as the sight of Kenma came into focus.

“Keiji, it's me.”

Kenma heard the lock turn, and Akaashi opened up. “Hey, what’s up?” Akaashi asked.

Holding up his plastic bag, Kenma shrugged. “I got you some stuff.”

“You’re not going to the party?”

“Absolutely not.”

Akaashi smiled. “Okay, hanging out with me then?”

“If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Oh um… do you want a mask? I don’t want you getting whatever it is that I have.”

Kenma shook his head. “I’m fine.”

He walked inside and laughed at the state of Akaashi’s living room. It was like he moved from his bed to the couch, and the only evidence of remedy was a box of tissues and throat lozenge wrappers. “This party is lit.”

Akaashi shook his head. “No. It sucks and I can’t eat anything. I’m so thirsty, Kenma.”

“Oh my god you are pitiful,” Kenma snorted.

“Shut up. I’m sick.” Akaashi moved his duvet over so Kenma could sit down. “I was actually about to take a shower, do you mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll be out here.” Kenma placed his bag on the kitchen counter and began emptying its contents.

“Okay, I’ll be quick.”

“Take your time.”

Kenma heard the shower start, and threw away his bag. He searched Akaashi’s cupboards for a teapot, until he finally found it in the last place he checked. Of course. He filled up the pot and placed it on the stove to warm, and as he waited for the water to boil, he grabbed a few cleaning items and started for the living room. Using his hand, he swept all the used tissues and lozenge wrappers into a garbage bag. Then, he sprayed the table with a generous amount of Lysol. After wiping it down thoroughly, he brought the old mug to the sink and rinsed it out, taking care to scrub down the sides where the over-steeped tea stained the ceramic. He returned to the living room and folded the duvet neatly over the armrest, and replaced the empty box of tissues with a new one he found amongst Akaashi’s ridiculously abundant supply of tissues and paper towels under the sink.

The teapot started to screech, so Kenma washed his hands and turned the stove off. He peeled back the lids to the cup noodles and filled to the line, careful not to burn himself. He carried it slowly out to the room, and was startled when Akaashi’s black cat, Mustard, jumped onto the table.

“Careful, girl.” Kenma set the cup down gently on the table, and pet Mustard as she sniffed the steamy noodles. He smiled as she purred, and placed a small kiss on her nose before turning around to get Akaashi’s medicine. He filled a small cup with ice, grabbed the water bottles, his own cup of noodles, and the medicine. 

Kenma snuggled into the couch as he waited for the shower to stop. Mustard jumped into his lap and rubbed her face against his hands, purring for attention.

“So needy,” Kenma teased with a smile. Mustard was so affectionate. At least if Kenma  _ did  _ decide to go to the party, she would keep Akaashi company. 

He continued petting Mustard and watching the dated horror movie on Akaashi’s TV. He hated it when the volume in movies were different—where the music was ridiculously loud but the dialogue was faint. He kept the volume level the same, sacrificing understanding the plot to prevent another heart attack the next time the music started up.

“Hey, I’m bac- whoa.” Akaashi turned around the corner to find his his living room spotless, and food waiting for him. 

“Have a nice shower?” Kenma adjusted himself after grabbing his own cup of noodles, blowing on it to cool it down.

“Yeah, much needed. Did you do this?” Akaashi looked around, admiring the cleanliness.

“No, it was Mustard.” He said with sarcasm.

Akaashi laughed. “That’s pretty amazing.” He sat down next to Kenma and shivered as he reached for his duvet. 

“Okay, so. I got you some medicine. Chew on a few pieces of ice first so you can numb your throat, then you can swallow them. Please. Drink. Some water.” Kenma handed Akaashi the cup of ice, urging him to use it.

“O-oh okay.” Akaashi placed an ice cube in his mouth and let it melt for a few moments before starting to chew, and then he swallowed. Kenma watched as he winced.

“A few more, Keiji. You can do it.”

Kenma slurped up some more noodles as Akaashi sucked on a few more ice cubes. He stopped wincing after swallowing, and Kenma took away the cup.

“Okay, here’s the medicine. Do one at a time.” Kenma handed him a small maroon tablet and the water bottle.

Akaashi exhaled in preparation, placed the tablet on his tongue, and quickly swallowed it down with water. He sighed as the pain was less intense than he expected.

“Good, one more.” Kenma handed him another, and he swallowed. “Alright. That’ll start working soon. You need some food too, so here.” Kenma picked up Akaashi’s cup of noodles, and then blew on it to see if there was any steam. There was none. “It should be cooled down enough. If it becomes too painful, just have some more ice.” 

Akaashi nodded and held the cup firmly between his hands. He sank into the couch, and turned his attention to the TV. “Can you even hear what they are saying?”

“Mmm-Mmm.” Kenma shook his head as he slurped up some noodles. Akaashi felt butterflies in his stomach at the sight of Kenma’s red cheeks, warm from the broth. Maybe the butterflies was his sickness, though. “Don’t turn it up, though. The music's too loud. You’ll die.”

“Okay.” Akaashi laughed. “Nice costume, by the way.”

“Ah, thank you.” Kenma licked his teeth clean as he replaced his faux fangs. He turned away from Akaashi as he did so. “I would be careful though…”

Akaashi frowned. “Why?”

“Because… I might…” Kenma turned around dramatically to bare his fangs. “Bite your neck!”

Akaashi bursted into laughter, and scared Mustard awake. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of Kenma doing  _ anything _ to his neck, and his laughs were more of a disguise for the hot flush rising on his cheeks. “Ohohoho?”

Kenma froze. “Did you just.”

“Yes.”

“Enough.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Kenma smiled and shook his head in slight embarrassment. He removed his fangs, and then stood up to untie his cape. He hung it on the coat rack, and then pointed to the bathroom door. “May I?”

Akaashi nodded his head up and down in between sips of his noodles. 

Kenma went inside and locked the door. He took off his shirt and placed it over the shower rod, splashed some water on his face, and then reached for the towel hanging next to the mirror to pat his face dry. With a deep breath, he curled his fingers under the hem of his binder, and slid it off over his head in one swift motion. He felt his chest expand at the lost restriction, and then frowned at his breasts that lay limp in his reflection. Facing away from the mirror, he folded up his binder, and then slid his shirt back on. Back to the living room.

Akaashi was in the kitchen throwing away their empty cups, and Kenma sat back down on the couch. He grabbed one of the throw pillows and hugged it to his chest. 

As Akaashi came back, he turned off the lights and covered himself back up next to Kenma, who was dozing off. 

“Kenma.”

Kenma shook his head awake at the mention of his name. “Hm?”

“Here.” Akaashi laid a pillow on his lap and patted it.

Kenma didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. He adjusted himself comfortably on Akaashi’s lap, facing opposite the TV. As he inhaled, he smelt the clean scent of Akaashi’s sleep shirt, and felt like he was laying in a pile of laundry fresh out of the dryer. Warm and soft.

Akaashi dared to reach down and run his fingers through Kenma’s hair, lulling him to sleep with his gentle touches. He watched as Kenma’s eyes fluttered shut, and he tucked a piece of hair behind his ear. 

“Thank you for everything tonight.”

“I told you it was Mustard,” Kenma mumbled.

Akaashi smiled and bent down to place small kiss on Kenma’s forehead, and in return, Kenma snored. 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr at [cozykoushi](http://cozykoushi.tumblr.com) :*)  
> i hope you enjoyed!!~


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